Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1753
October 25, 2026
Exodus 20.17-21 Click here for audio recording of worship.
Dr. Ed Pettus
(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)
“Tenth Commandment – What is Required”
“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”
18Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
- Totally Content
Has there been a time or moment in your life when you were totally and completely content? Maybe it is now. Maybe it was a special memory. Maybe it is a way of life. That would be the ideal, to live in total contentment every day. To be content we have to be completely satisfied with our station in life. There are probably small moments like when we can push ourselves away from the dinner table and say, enough. There are other times when we cannot say “enough” and we want more, whether it is food or something we like to collect or some other desire over which we have little control.
The Tenth Commandment requires a life of contentment. Most often the Bible speaks to contentment with wealth and possessions. Hebrews 13.5, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” The implication is that contentment is based on the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. Jesus is enough. Jesus is complete satisfaction. Jesus is truly the answer. Jesus is life and satisfaction. In Christ we find delight and rest and if we yield our lives completely to Jesus, we will be content!
Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6.6-10, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” Paul is not saying we cannot have wealth, but that wealth cannot be our source of contentment. Godliness with contentment is great gain because we will have come into an understanding of riches in Christ and not riches of this world.
One of the ways we come to this kind of contentment is through pursuit of heavenly things more than earthly things. When Jesus teaches on the topic of anxiety and trust, He is teaching a way to contentment. “31Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6.31-33). Gentiles is a general term for non-believer in this case and Jesus is pressing upon those who do believe that we need never worry about having our needs met by the God who meets the needs of all of creation, even more, those whom He loves and are created in His image.
Because we have contentment in Christ, we have no need to covet another’s possessions or anything listed in the Tenth Commandment. The Commandment is only in the seventeenth verse but notice how many more words it has than the previous neighborly Commandments. They all could be reduced to two words: no murder, no theft, no adultery, no lies. But this Commandment repeats no coveting twice and gives a host of word pairs: house/wife, male servant/female servant, ox/donkey, and then raises the bar to anything of our neighbor’s. The Tenth Commandment and the Fourth Commandment share similar language – hear again the Sabbath Commandment: On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. This may be a vital connection because the Sabbath Commandment requires us to rest from our work which requires that we are content with what we have done and with what we have. The Sabbath also calls us to mortify or destroy any covetous desire within our heart. The Sabbath calls us to say, enough.
- Love for Neighbor
The Tenth Commandment requires that we have a loving attitude to our neighbor. Instead of coveting another’s property or possessions, we rejoice with them in their blessings. We hope for the best for others and look out for their best interests. Romans 12.15 teaches us to share in the good and the bad, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” The attitude here is one of love for neighbor, contentment in our situation, and rejoicing in the good fortune of our neighbor. Of course, the other side of that rejoicing is to be with others in times of crisis, to bring comfort and the peace of presence.
The apostle Paul sums up the attitude that counters any thought of covetousness.
Philippians 2.1-4, “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Such an attitude eliminates covetousness. We will not desire to have the possessions of others if we love others, if we are unselfish, and if we are not conceited. We will do what is right if we count others more significant than ourselves, looking out for their interests above our own. With this attitude we will actually want others to have more than us, to be more blessed, and we will rejoice in their good fortune. This mindset comes with what Paul teaches in the next verse in Philippians 2.5-11,
5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Have this mind among yourselves, the mind of Christ. Christ humbled himself, emptied Himself of what He had in heaven. We are summoned to empty ourselves of any entitlement, a huge concept in this day as people believe themselves to be entitled to so much. We are called to empty ourselves of any ambition to covet anything that belongs to neighbor. Like Christ, we are to give ourselves over for the good of others, for the common good of a community by devotion to prayer and service and generosity.
Like Psalm 122, we pray for the peace of others. “Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” 8For my brothers and companions' sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” 9For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good” (7-9). I commend to you a book by a friend of mine, Alan Wright, The Power to Bless. In general, it is about the ability to speak blessing into our own lives and into the lives of others. When we pray for others and when we bless others, we have no desire to covet. Think of the times someone has blessed you. Perhaps it was a compliment about an ability they saw in you. Perhaps an expression of love. Perhaps someone asking you what they could pray about for you specifically. This is the mind of Christ, to offer prayer and blessing into the life of a neighbor, those around us, in our lives, who may cross our path. Coveting will never find a place in our hearts when we have the mind and attitude of Christ.
We can aim our lives in the direction of love as Paul writes, 1 Timothy 1.5, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” The Tenth Commandment is kept and obeyed when we have a love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Pray those things into our lives and into the lives of others. That will be a blessing of life.
- Give Thanks
I have spoken of prayer and blessing as a counter to coveting. I want to offer one more practice that leads us toward fulfilling what this Commandment requires and that practice is giving thanks. A great help to contentment is thanksgiving. A blessing to life for ourselves and others is gratitude. When we are content, we offer thanks to God for the blessings of life. When we have an attitude that is filled with gratitude, we have no need to covet. When we have genuine love for our neighbor we have no desire for his things, but only to give thanks for our and his.
The Bible summons us to practice gratitude every day – to develop an attitude of gratitude. In essence we should thank God daily, moment by moment, giving thanks for big and small, good and even bad. We are taught that even our suffering is a cause for thanks because it will lead us to hope and to growth in faith. Paul teaches us to give thanks in all circumstances, 1 Thessalonians 5.16-18, “Rejoice always, 17pray without ceasing, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Note too that giving thanks is the will of God for us! Joy is God’s will. Prayer is God’s will. God’s will is not hard to discern – rejoice, pray, and give thanks.
When Paul writes for us to put on the attributes of Christian faith, he highlights thanksgiving three times in Colossians 3.12-17, “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Gratitude is a weapon against coveting. Thanksgiving is also an act of self-abandonment, that is, to give thanks is to realize that we do not rely on ourselves. We owe everything to God and because God has provided, we need not covet. Gratitude bids us to give thanks for all God has already provided, to be thankful for what we have received and be content with what we have received. Gratitude acknowledges a commitment to keep the Tenth Commandment.
What does the Tenth Commandment require? That’s easy! Thanksgiving to the Lord, love for neighbor, and contentment with what He has provided. Practice these and walk in obedience to the Tenth Commandment - “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” Amen.
